Moments of Truth: It’s Not just about Like or Share

Posted in Marketing & Strategy Articles, Total Reads: 1516
, Published on 05 May 2015

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As the famous quote says “Customer is the king”. Companies are trying to capture the customers at the right moment and at the right place to add the greatest value. Throughout the transaction process, customer and company interact directly or indirectly. Interaction points are created at various times of sales cycle. This is known as “Moment of Truth” (MOT). MOT is generally used in customer retention in product or service industry.

MOMENT OF TRUTH (MOT):

As per Business Dictionary definition: The instance of contact or interaction between a customer and a firm (through a product, sales force, or visit) that gives the customer an opportunity to form (or change) an impression about the firm.

Let’s see different moments of truths we come across.

Zero moments of Truth (ZMOT): (Coined by Google)

This is the point before actual interaction. At this stage a customer identifies his own need.

Let us say he wants a wrist watch. At this digital age, very few customers will directly land on a store for purchase before making any pre-purchase research. In the meantime they like the social pages, follow, share or comment on any post and ask for clarifications. When a customer likes or comments on a post, company finds a fresh prospect which the company which it tries to convert.

At this point perception about the company, products and brands is created in customers’ mind. Capturing the customer at the right moment is the key.

Few important steps company can take to make this stage more effective are:

1. Be present at the right place: Go multi-screen in providing the promotions.

2. Show up in the digital media more often and with right content and with local information

3. Company may target its advertisements to customers having a similar type of page likes in social media.

So it is not only about likes or shares, it is much more than that for a company and the first step towards customer acquisition.

First Moment of Truth (FMOT): (Coined by P&G)

In this step the customer tries to come more nearer to the product. Customer may try to visit the store to check the product, engage actively in social conversations to clarify queries, seek more information through online or offline mode. According to P&G shoppers make up their mind in three to seven seconds, just the time it takes to note a product on a store shelf. This time lapse is called (by P&G) “First Moment of Truth”.

Since this step is very close to buy, any delay or any small mistake will result is losing a customer. So be proactive.

Second Moment of Truth (SMOT): (Coined by P&G)

In this moment the consumer behavior is difficult to gauge by the company as it will be mostly driven by the experience of using the product. At this step, customer makes the actual purchase and starts using it. The behavior at the FMOT and SMOT might be different as the customer at the buyer side is different in both the cases. The expectation of the customer is to get the right assistance in using the product.

As a marketer, you should ensure that the customer has the best experience in using the product to create and maintaining a long term relationship.

1. Provide the right assistance by providing demos (online/offline), videos or tutorials in social media

2. Create online customers community for interaction and helping each other. This results in most of the queries getting resolved at the forum itself.

3. Engage with the customer in social platforms

Third Moment of Truth (TMOT): (Coined by Pete Blackshaw)

This is the post purchase step and is important because, if the feedback at this step is positive, it helps in spreading the words resulting in more customer acquisition and increase in a customer base. It can also be proved as most disastrous stage if something goes wrong. In an era where marketers considering customers as co-brand manager; a bad remark is enough to create a dent in the business. So any bad review or bad post about the company or the product will result in losing the credibility.

As a marketer,

1. Engage with the customers by providing the service at the right time

2. Online troubleshooting and call assistance

3. Collect feedback at the right time and try to resolve if any complaints are there

4. Watch out the online space continuously to avoid spreading of any bad mouth before controlling it

Although Moments of Truth are important touch points in a product or service business, still it can be extended to other business areas where there is interaction or transaction between two parties like a candidate and a recruiter in HR and between a client and consultant in Consulting. The ultimate aim of any company is to win all the moments of truth and win the customer. At the end still “Customer is the king.”